Chris SingletonThe Florida State Seminoles are looking like the second best team in the ACC this season, and a large portion of their success goes to the remarkable offensive improvement of 6'9" forward Chris Singleton. The past two seasons Singleton has been held back by a poor shot-selection, an inconsistent jumper and an abysmal free throw shooting percentage. This season he's managed to boost his three point shooting percentage from 29.7% to a very respectable 38.8%. Even more impressively, he’s raised his free throw shooting percentage from 49.6% to 76.8%. Singleton is taking full advantage of his newfound shooting ability; not by taking more jump shots, but by forcing the defense to play closer to him. This gives him the opportunity to use his outstanding quickness and athletic ability to attack the basket more aggressively, awarding him with more free throw attempts (an area he conveniently doesn't suck at anymore). Defensively, Singleton is still the same player. He uses his length, athleticism, strength, instincts and tenacity to force the opposition into tough shots. In his Christmas Day game against Baylor, Singleton did a fantastic job limiting Perry Jones to 4 points and 4 turnovers in 31 minutes. Singleton is rebounding and blocking shots at a very high rate for someone who projects to be a wing player at the next level. He's also second in the ACC at steals with 2.4 per game. Chris Singleton was a likely first rounder last season as a defender/athlete, and his willingness to work on other areas of his game is something that an NBA team in the lottery could fall in love with.

Hot

Miami (FL) Hurricanes

Miami is playing Duke this Sunday, so this is their chance to prove that they mean big business. I like the makeup of their roster, and while I don't believe that they are the best team in the ACC, I do believe that they are capable of putting a nice scare into the team that has yet to be scared this season. Miami has a strong backcourt with Malcolm Grant and Durand Scott to go along with a LARGE frontcourt with Reggie Johnson and Adrian Thomas. Miami's only loses this season have come from quality teams (Memphis, Rutgers, Central Florida), and they project to match up well against ACC competition. Expect Miami (FL) to enter the postseason (in a few months) on a high note.

Cold

Virginia Cavaliers

It's beginning to look a lot like last year, as Virginia appears to be spiraling downward as they head into conference play. They were overachieving before they lost their hero Mike Scott to a heartbreaking ankle injury. Mike Scott attempted to return (extremely) early from his surgery against Seattle last week, but he only ended up braking his double-double streak in a loss against the very mediocre Seattle Redhawks. Then this week (without Scott) they lost by 13 to Iowa State. The absence of the aforementioned Mike Scott hurts the Cavaliers in a lot of ways. The first is the sudden lack of rebounding. After Mike Scott (who averages 10.4) the next highest rebounder on Virginia is senior Will Sherrill, who is only averaging 4.1 rebounds a game. Minus Scott, the Cavaliers also lack a go-to scorer or an efficient, reliable scorer. Scott averages a team-high 15.9 points a game on a team high 48.2% shooting from the field. He's also the team's best free throw shooter, shooting 88.1% from the stripe. In their last four games, the Cavaliers are shooting 36% from the floor as a team. Hopefully the Cavaliers get Scott back soon, or they'll likely free-fall during conference play like they did last season.

Top 5 Shooters in the ACC

1. Gary Clark - I don't care how bad his team is, Gary Clark can make threes like... I don't even know. He's shooting 67.6% from outside. That's tops in the nation, by a very wide margin. Shoot more Mr. Clark. Shoot more.

2. Malcolm Grant - He's second in the ACC in free throw shooting this season at a 90.5% clip. He's also drilled 35 threes this season, shooting 45.5% from outside.

3. Andre Dawkins - After the loss of Kyrie Irving (also a very good shooter), Andre Dawkins' was forced to step up his game. While he isn't the same playmaker, he is a remarkably efficient shooter. This season, he's shooting 57.3% from the floor and 53.4% from beyond the arc.

4. Reggie Jackson - Jackson seems more and more comfortable shooting three pointers as the season progresses. He's upped his three point percentage to 49.2%, which makes the rest of his offensive game even more effective.

5. Malcolm Delaney - He's not really a "pure" shooter, but Malcolm Delaney is one of the biggest threats from everywhere on the floor. He's the top scorer in the ACC and a very efficient free throw shooter at 85.7%.

Weekly Thoughts

HAPPY NEW YEAR!... Coach K passed Dean Smith for second on the all-time wins list, and is hot on the trail of Bob Knight. He could become the winningest coach in Division 1 history by the season's end... Fan-favorite Glen Rice Jr had another spectacular game in a win over Mercer on New Year's Eve with a career-high 24 points and 7 rebounds...